Pour water into the bottom of a Crock Pot. Place chicken in. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with onion slices. Distribute veggies around the chicken in the bottom sides of the Crock Pot. Cook on high for 3 hours.
Mix rice with seasonings. Pour into the Crock Pot around the chicken (add more liquid if needed). Cook on high for about an 1 hour (depending on type of rice – some may require less time, some more), or until rice is cooked.
Check internal temperature of chicken. It’s done when a meat thermometer inserted into a thick part of the meat (not touching the bone) reaches 180F.
Taste the rice and adjust seasoning if needed.
To serve, scoop some rice and chicken onto a plate. Top with fresh herbs.
Pre-heat oven to 375F. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat an oven-proof skillet. Add olive oil. Over medium-high heat, sear chicken for about 2 minutes on each side.
Top chicken with tomato, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Pour water and 2 T of the balsamic into the skillet around the chicken. Cover and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 170F.
Bring remaining balsamic vinegar to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, keeping an eye on it, until it’s reduced down and syrupy.
Uncover and top with mozzarella and bake just until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
Serve chicken topped with basil and a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar.
I used to live in Texas. For five years. In between growing up in Ontario and my curent residence in California. In that time, one thing that I learned about the good ole folks, deep in the heart of Texas, is that they love them some barbecue. Oh boy, do they know how to grill.
There’s a restaurant that we used to go to called Rudy’s. Their slogan is “The worst BBQ in Texas.” I’ve no idea why they say this. Mmmm, Rudy’s… You stand in line, (I have to interrupt myself for a second. I’m reading this aloud as I type and all of a sudden I’ve developed a Southern accent. What?!), so, as I was saying, you stand in line, you order your brisket, beans, coleslaw, creamed corn, peach cobbler, and sweet tea. You pick up your order a few steps to your right, and they give you about a quarter of a loaf of white bread to go with it. I don’t know why. They just do. And you just eat it, because that’s the way it is at Rudy’s.
This Shepherd’s Pie is a tribute to my Texas friends and family. It has collard greens, barbecue sauce, sweet corn, shredded chicken, polenta, and a whole buncha other stuff. You can read the recipe. I’m not going to write it all out again. I’m not a true Southerner, so this is my take on it, from my brief stint there. If I got it wrong, well, it still tastes good, y’all.
My heart feels happy right now. I’m thinking of Texas memories. What a sweet time that was in my life. I think I’ll go look at some old photo albums for a while.
Heat oven proof skillet (cast iron works great). Add butter, bacon grease, and olive oil and let them brown. Add all veggies (except garlic), vinegar, and seasonings. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and chicken and cook 5 minutes more.
Whisk together water and cornstarch. Whisk in barbecue sauce, mustard, and maple syrup. Pour over chicken mixture. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, or until chicken is heated through. Remove from heat. Stir in cream. Stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Top with polenta and smooth over meat and veggies. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes, if using hot, fresh polenta (or 30-40 minutes, or until polenta reaches 165F, if using leftover, cold polenta). (*If the pan is really full, you may want to put a drip catching baking sheet under the pan just in case it overflows.) If you're using hot polenta, you could also just top with cheese and serve. It will melt from the heat of the polenta.
Pre-heat oven to 350F. Slice chicken almost all the way through, lengthwise, creating a flap. Stuff with 2 pieces of gruyère and 1 piece of prosciutto. Close flap and spread the top with dijon, a sprinkle of salt, pepper, paprika, and flour.
Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Pour in water. Place chicken in pan, mustard side up.
Bake for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake 15-20 minutes more (or until chicken reaches 175F).
